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Gore TV Deal Is Stalled At The 11th Hour; Major Investor Pulls Out
New York Observer ^ | 4/2/04 | Joe Hagan

Posted on 04/02/2004 5:55:57 PM PST by rattrap

The Observer has learned that the deal for former Vice President Al Gore and his business partner Joel Hyatt to acquire digital-cable channel Newsworld International (NWI) has hit a major obstacle and may have fallen through in the 11th hour of negotiations.

Sources familiar with the situation said that one of Mr. Gore's crucial investors got cold feet in the last stage of the deal and that Mr. Gore's group and the channel's owner, Vivendi Universal Entertainment, could not agree on a price.

Mr. Gore's group was said to be paying around $70 million for Newsworld.

Reached for comment, and asked if the deal had died, Mr. Hyatt initially said, "No," but then added, "No comment. It's always been no comment. We never talked about this deal, never. When we're at liberty to talk, I very much look forward do doing so."

A spokeswoman for Vivendi Universal said, "Things are still in flux, but it hasn't been officially declared over."

Sources close to Mr. Gore told The Observer that the capital raised by Mr. Gore and Mr. Hyatt had come from dozens of investors, with a mix of individual, venture capital and investment banking money. It is not clear which investor pulled out of the deal.

If the deal should fall apart completely, NWI would become part of the Universal Entertainment properties currently being sold to NBC, sources said. It's not clear if NBC would be interested in a digital cable property, especially considering that it already owns news channels MSNBC and CNBC.

It could still be possible, in theory, for NBC to sell Newsworld to Mr. Gore 's group once its own deal is cleared. Spokespersons for NBC could not be reached for comment.

NWI has carriage in about 20 million homes, and packages "foreign newscasts originally broadcast in countries such as Germany, Japan, Canada and the European community," according to its Web site. Mr. Gore's group has had plans of transforming the channel into a 24-hour news, documentary and public-affairs channel geared toward kids in their 20's.

The deal for Mr. Gore and Mr. Hyatt to buy Newsworld International has been nearly a year in the making. It was initially stalled in the fall of 2003 by Vivendi Universal's sale of its cable assets to NBC. Later, Barry Diller, former Newsworld owner and chief executive of InterActive Corp., held up the deal while he resolved his own ownership issues. A source close to Mr. Diller told the Observer that Mr. Diller had cleared the way for Mr. Gore to acquire the company about three weeks ago.


TOPICS: Breaking News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: algore; bust; goretv; joelhyatt; tv
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To: ChadGore

61 posted on 04/02/2004 8:14:12 PM PST by Bush Cheney
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To: rattrap
But...but...pulling out at the last moment is no guarantee, right?




Ohh, nevermind.
62 posted on 04/02/2004 8:27:20 PM PST by Petronski (I'm not always cranky.)
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To: rattrap
It almost seems like divine punishment for his outrageous behavior in Florida, doesn't it? Now, he has the reverse Midas touch.
63 posted on 04/02/2004 8:28:56 PM PST by the Real fifi
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To: BossLady
Promises promises... ;)
64 posted on 04/02/2004 8:29:52 PM PST by DoughtyOne
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To: All

Stupidity.   Cure it by clicking on the picture.


65 posted on 04/02/2004 8:31:52 PM PST by Lady Jag (I dreamed I surfed all day in my monthly donor wonder bra.)
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To: ChadGore

"You don't understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody.... instead of a bum, which is what I am, let's face it. It was you, Bill."

66 posted on 04/02/2004 8:43:33 PM PST by Mad_Tom_Rackham (Any day you wake up is a good day.)
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To: ARA
Liberal radio is going to fail big time and frankly Americans aren't are far left as the leading liberals are...

Yep. Try as they might, it is pretty tough to overcome common sense unless you make 'liberal" use of lies. The Left HAS to disguise its intent because if truth wer known their arguments would be rejected en masse.

67 posted on 04/02/2004 8:51:18 PM PST by Mad_Tom_Rackham (Any day you wake up is a good day.)
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To: rattrap
Well, dang it all, anyhow - Algore's one of my favorite libs and I'm not gonna take this laying down. [BtD digs through his grimy jeans and emerges with a nickel and some pocket lint clutched in grubby fingers.] Here. I was gonna give this to the Dean campaign...
68 posted on 04/02/2004 8:52:59 PM PST by Billthedrill (Become a monthly FR donor...or the puppy gets it...)
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To: Bubba_Leroy
Gore TV Deal Is Stalled At The 11th Hour; Major Investor Pulls Out Regains Sanity
69 posted on 04/02/2004 8:54:41 PM PST by Mad_Tom_Rackham (Any day you wake up is a good day.)
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To: rattrap
Hehehe!! Those investors probably tuned into Airhead America and suddenly realized that they may never make a profit out of funding liberal whining and caterwalling.

70 posted on 04/02/2004 8:54:50 PM PST by Sorcerer3 (For the life of me I just can't understand why they hate me at democraticunderground.com)
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To: rattrap
Another liberal cable news channel is what the world really, really needs.

News geared toward 20 years olds. These investors better figure out quickly (and so should the Republicans) that 20 year olds aren't interested in news. Besides, they get their news from Leno, Letterman, and assorted comedians and sitcoms.

In other words, they learn via propaganda.

Then they have families and discover that someone's stealing all their money via taxes, and then they start watching news....conservative news.

71 posted on 04/02/2004 9:11:56 PM PST by xzins (Retired Army and Proud of It!)
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To: rattrap
Sources familiar with the situation said that one of Mr. Gore's crucial investors got cold feet

That's no surprise considering they're working with the undead.

72 posted on 04/02/2004 9:12:12 PM PST by GulliverSwift (Keep the <a href="http://www.johnkerry.com/">gigolo</a> out of the White House!)
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To: expatpat
Excuse me while I leave the computer to cry for an hour or so.

First Air America and now the Gore network. It's just too much, too much.


73 posted on 04/02/2004 9:15:50 PM PST by DeFault User (Is this karma for Gore not repairing his tenant's toilet?)
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To: Mad_Tom_Rackham

74 posted on 04/02/2004 9:22:57 PM PST by reagan_fanatic (So you're a feminist - isn't that cute!)
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To: rattrap
...geared toward kids in their 20's

I always thought that people in their 20's were considered adults...

But then again, I guess Liberals never really do grow up!

75 posted on 04/02/2004 9:26:45 PM PST by Cowboy Bob
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To: reagan_fanatic
omg - seeing all these Al Gore cartoons is a hoot.
76 posted on 04/02/2004 9:44:35 PM PST by corkoman (Logged in - have you?)
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To: Howlin
Are you sure that's not Gore? After all, he does have Bette Davis eyes Lanny Davis thighs....
77 posted on 04/02/2004 11:03:08 PM PST by StAnDeliver
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To: rattrap
I am sure glad that Maj. Investor changed his mind, the Cuban Army has a much better major medical plan... and all the smokes he can handle.
78 posted on 04/02/2004 11:31:29 PM PST by AJ504 (...I bumped up my monthly... did you??)
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To: Mad_Tom_Rackham
What I wanna know is - How can one short the stock that is algore? There's got to be some money to make somewhere betting against this guy. There's gotta be.
79 posted on 04/02/2004 11:45:35 PM PST by gipper81
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To: rattrap
eh, eh, eh, He said pulls out!
80 posted on 04/02/2004 11:52:53 PM PST by rewrite
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